"Dutch pay a lot for power"

The Dutch pay more for electricity than their neighbours in Belgium and Germany.

7 December 2007

AMSTERDAM – Dutch consumers pay relatively higher prices for electricity compared to neighbouring countries. The Dutch Competition Authority (NMa) wrote this in a report published on Thursday.

The cost of electricity could be "reduced by several tens of euro per year if the electricity transport at the borders were improved," the NMa says. The competition authority is calling on the companies managing the national grid to work on this together.

The regulator concludes that the energy market in the Netherlands is characterised by a limited number of large producers and high prices.

The NMa says measures are also needed on the natural gas market to improve competition. The regulator urges that "the ground rules and transparency be improved."